Deadbolt door lock assemblies are commonly installed on entry doors of commercial and residential buildings to lock the doors closed and to provide increased security against unwanted entry. In such lock assemblies, a deadbolt is selectively positioned between an unlocked position and a locked position. In the unlocked position, the deadbolt latch is recessed flush into the door, allowing the door to open. In the locked position, the deadbolt latch is extended into the door jamb, preventing the door from opening. In the locked position, the deadbolt latch extends out from the door for disposition within an opposing door frame jamb (when the door is closed), thereby securely locking the door.
Single cylinder and double cylinder deadbolt lock assemblies may be used. Both generally include an oscillating crank to actuate the deadbolt between the unlocked and locked positions. In the single cylinder assembly, a torque blade connects the crank to a thumb turn mounted on the inside facing surface of the door (e.g., accessible from within the building) and to a lock cylinder accessible from the outside surface of the door. The thumb turn can be manually turned or a key can be used to operate the lock cylinder to rotate the torque blade and actuate the deadbolt between its unlocked and locked positions.
While it is known that deadbolt door locks provide improved security, people often do not use them after closing the door from outside because it requires finding the correct key to operate the lock cylinder. To remedy this, some dead-bolt lock assemblies allow keyless locking operation from outside the door to lock the deadbolt. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,548 (Kendrick), U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,749 (Lin), U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,592 (Lin), U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,030 (Lin), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,286 (Armstrong). These deadbolt door lock assemblies typically include a ring surrounding the lock cylinder in operative connection with the torque blade to actuate the deadbolt to its locked position without having to use a key.
The main drawback to these prior patents is pre-installation reconfigurations, the need for extra interchangeable parts and extra latches because of the non-centered design of their deadbolts. Still another problem is for the person remembering the correct direction to turn the locking ring either to the right or left when locking the door. Further, on the typical home, one door will be a left hand door and another will be a right hand door. The person will need to remember which deadbolt to turn to the right or to the left to lock their door. This can cause a door that is thought to have been locked that is in fact unlocked. Another drawback of these prior deadbolt door lock assemblies is that they are susceptible to binding or jamming during subsequent unlocking of the deadbolt.
All prior keyless deadbolts have been designed to fit existing deadbolt latches. Thus, they could not be converted between left hand hung doors and right hand hung doors. In this invention, this is the first time a deadbolt and deadbolt latch assembly has been designed to not require any reconfiguration of the deadbolt, and its latch, or require any reassembly of its components, to make it work on left hand or right hand hung doors.
In particular, the ring tends to interfere with the rotation of the torque blade back to a position corresponding to the unlocked position of the deadbolt. In addition, the force necessary to overcome binding of the lock accelerates wear of the internal mechanisms of the assembly. Another disadvantage of some prior keyless dead-bolt lock devices is that projection of the deadbolt may be dependent on the rotational speed imparted by the user to the ring. In such a design, the deadbolt may not fully project to its locked position, leaving the lock easily retracted without a key.
These drawbacks of these prior deadbolt door lock assemblies can cause binding or jamming during subsequent locking and unlocking of the deadbolt. In particular, the ring can interfere with the rotation of the biased torque blade back to a position corresponding to the unlocked position of the deadbolt. And, the force necessary to overcome binding of the lock accelerates wear of the internal mechanisms of the assembly. Some prior keyless deadbolt lock devices left the projection of the deadbolt dependent on the rotational speed imparted by the user to the ring. As stated, the deadbolt may not fully project to its locked position, leaving the lock easily retracted without a key.
No other keyless deadbolt product has the convenience of a simple turn to the right, for either a right hand or left hand door. Plus there may be the possible use of a start and stop mark on the deadbolt to confirm that you have turned the lock to the fully locked position. It is also the simple turn to the right that is both natural and not confusing to the user. As to, do I turn this lock to the right or left to lock my door. Further there is no reconfiguration when installing the single symmetric action centered keyless deadbolt. Further, as in past patents, it was up to the installer to make sure all pre-configurations were done to make sure the deadbolt would work correctly after installation. This is a far superior new design that eliminates the steps for pre-configuration of the deadbolt needed for any installation. Only in the positioning of the deadbolt latch with a clear simple left hand or right hand stamped into the body for indication of installing the deadbolt on either a right hand or left hand door. Obviously, though, this lock assembly could also be preassembled during manufacturing for counterclockwise turning to attain a locking of the door.
To this end, co-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,813,261, 6,601,420, 7,389,661 and RE40193, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, all disclose keyless deadbolt door lock assemblies that inhibit binding upon unlocking of the deadbolt. In particular, the keyless ring is used to actuate the torque blade to move the deadbolt to its locked position, and is then returned to its initial position by a return spring biasing member so that the ring cannot interfere with subsequent movement of the torque blade (e.g., by using a key) back to the unlocked position of the deadbolt.
However, the lock assemblies disclosed in these references in the past are generally useable on only a left hand door or a right hand door. Thus, two different models must be made available (one for use with a left hand door and one for use with a right hand door). Alternatively, the disclosed lock assembly may be disassembled, substantially re-configured and reassembled to switch from use on a left hand door or to use on a right hand door (or vise versa).
There is a need, therefore, for a symmetrical uni-directional, centered cylinder, single action, right turn only keyless deadbolt with deadbolt latch door lock assembly which is operable on either a left hand door or a right hand door with no reconfiguration, and is substantially less susceptible to binding during unlocking of its deadbolt.